Court grants Dino Melaye leave to travel abroad for medical treatment

An Abuja chief magistrate’s court in Wuse has granted leave to Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi) to travel to the United States for an appointment with his doctor.

Melaye was arraigned before the court on May 2d on charges bordering on his alleged escape from a police vehicle in Abuja on April 24th. At the resumed hearing yesterday June 6th, his counsel, John Odubela (SAN) asked the court to order the Commissioner of Police, FCT command to release Melaye’s international passport to enable him travel for medical treatment abroad which had previously been scheduled before his faceoff with the police.

Odubela told the court that Melaye is an asthmatic patient and his health conditions had deteriorated. A medical report from the National Hospital was attached as Exhibit DM3 disclosing the defendant’s health condition. He said following treatment at the US hospital, Melaye has another appointment at the hospital on June 28.

In her ruling, the presiding magistrate, Mabel Segun-Bello said that since Dino’s medical condition existed before the case was filed and the appointment at the hospital abroad predated the trial, there was no need for a referral letter.

She ordered that the international passport should be released to the defendant and that he is to be out of the country for treatment for a period of 20 days (June 18 to July 8 2018). He was ordered to return the international passport to the custody of the Commissioner of Police of the FCT upon his return.